Turkish Airlines to establish joint venture in Albania

Turkey's national flag carrier Turkish Airlines will establish a joint venture company in Albania, the airline said on Wednesday.

In a statement sent to Turkey's Public Disclosure Platform (KAP), Turkish Airlines said the new company will operate in the field of passenger and cargo transportation.

"The aforementioned company will be established with the capital up to $30 million," it said.

Flag carrier said the stakes of 49 percent, 41 percent and 10 percent is being held respectively by Turkish Airlines, MDN Investment SHPK, and Albcontrol, which manages Albania's airspace and air traffic, representing Government of Albania.

On Wednesday, in another statement to KAP, Turkish Airlines announced its decision to start operating scheduled flights to Lusaka, capital of Zambia.

Turkish Airlines earned some 24.4 billion Turkish liras ($5.9 billion) of total revenue in the first half of this year, while the company had nearly 25,000 staff, including more than 4,500 pilots.

The airline carried 43.2 million passengers from January to July this year, while carrying some 68.6 million passengers with a 79.1 percent seat occupancy rate in 2017.

Turkish Airlines, founded in 1933, flies to more than 300 destinations in over 120 countries with its fleet of 325 aircraft. According to the airline's end-year targets, the company expects to carry 75 million passengers in 2018.

A total of 50.88 percent of the airline's stocks are publicly traded on Turkey's stock exchange Borsa Istanbul while the rest are owned by the Turkiye Wealth Fund.

Turkish Airlines has a 24.8 billion Turkish lira ($3.9 billion) market value, based on stock exchange market figures, as of market close on Wednesday, Sep. 12.